Thursday, April 15, 2010

Electronic Edits

Sorry to anyone who anticipated that I would blog about something deep and thought-provoking today, but my mind has been focused on proofreading the typeset pages for my next Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery, FELINE FATALE--a July 2010 release. (Had to get the plug in for it!)

This is the first time that both the typeset pages and the copyedited version, which I need to refer to as I proofread, are electronic. Since I’m techie challenged, I’ve wound up with two computers side-by-side so I can compare the text of the two versions most easily. I started out in my writing career by proofreading typeset pages by comparing two paper versions, and, later, one paper and one electronic.

For the most part, I appreciate our new electronic edits, the paper and trees they save, and the ease of working. Even so, I’m still getting used to it.

Which means that my blog today is somewhat short.

What’s your opinion of going green, electronic and techie?

11 comments:

Sheila Connolly said...

Since I'm in the middle of the selfsame electronic edits...I can't say I love them. If you make a lot of changes, like moving chunks of text (or, heaven forbid, whole chapters) around, then the edit view looks like a lot of blue spaghetti and you can no longer search for anything. And my version of Word and my editor's don't like each other, and mine won't let me make my comments a different color, so the whole thing comes out muddled.

I like editing on paper, with pretty colored pens. So I'm a dinosaur. But I guess we don't have a choice.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I actually like electronic copyediting, Sheila, especially since my computer does allow me to see which editor made the comments, and my own, in different colors. The most current version came out with balloons, which shrinks the text, but it seems to work okay.

Camille Minichino said...

Though I think of myself as moderately techie, I'm not crazy about tracking changes electronically.

It's great in theory but I have the same problems Sheila does when I want to make a significant change. Maybe eventually the software will improve.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

All of this is much more complicated than you would guess, isn't it? I start by editing by hand, but I quickly get frustrated. That said, I've read that it's good to read a hard copy with a marker in hand and just circle passages that are problematic before diving in. For Photo, Snap, Shot, I wound up retyping sections because the changes were precise and extensive. Then I would read them out loud and rediscover new glitches. It took me literally 3 weeks to edit that book, but I was proud of the final product.

Janie Emaus said...

It all sounds confusing to me! But I do like sending manuscripts electronically. That parts easy.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I suspect that my acceptance of the electronic edits is partly based on my changes so far being relatively minor, Camille and Joanna, but I shudder to think of having to handle more extensive revisions!

Linda O. Johnston said...

Sending manuscripts by e-mail is certainly easier and less expensive than sending hard copies, Janie. I definitely like that part!

Monica Ferris said...

So far I haven't had to make any really extensive changes to my edited manuscript. I dread the day it happens because I am so techie-challenged. Fortunately, I live with a person who can make sense of the brave new world we live in.

Linda O. Johnston said...

My non-tech-challenged relatives don't live with me, Monica--just my husband, who's better at such stuff than I am but still not great. I do have a friend whom I see at Panera each weekend who might be able to help!

Betty Hechtman said...

I like the fact that you have more time to work on a manuscript because you don't have to fedex or mail it back. I also think any changes are clearer because they are typed in rather than being written in. No matter how careful I was or how sharp I kept my colored pencil, the handwritten changes were always hard to read.

So far I haven't had to make extensive changes, but I did have to switch some things around and it worked okay.

So now the galley pages are electronic, too. Last time I still had hard copies.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Yes, Betty, the page proofs/galleys/typeset pages are now electronic, too. I hope to send off my changes tomorrow. Doing it this way does result in a lot fewer errors! I used to get typos in most sections where I'd modified something in copyedits, and someone had to hand type the changes.